


Jolly Sailor Bold

by Kudalyn



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alcohol Mention/Use, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bones/Corpse, Drama, Fluff and Angst, Ghost/Spirit, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Major Character Death and Rebirth, Memory Loss, MerGhost AU, Mermaids/Siren, Puzzleshipping, Romance, Romantic Fluff, STICK THROUGH IT I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 21:11:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15693453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kudalyn/pseuds/Kudalyn
Summary: 'The seas sing for those who are lost, and for those who find as well.'Atem is a siren/merman and Yugi is a ghost haunting a sunken ship Atem comes across. Atem is intrigued by the ghost, hangs around enough that they start to get to know each other, getting attached, and falling for each other over time. But Yugi’s memories start to fade, as ghosts don’t get to stay forever on the living plane, and Atem has to deal with this loss.My entry for the YGO Big Bang 2018!Content Warning of character death and mourning, with reward at the end if you stick through it ;)





	Jolly Sailor Bold

It really was a shame, Atem thought. Such a fine ship, and yet it still was no match for the storm’s temper.

Most of it was still intact, one side somewhat crumpled in from dropping to the sea floor. He was surprised to find the doors still working as well, swollen from sea water but able to be jammed open with a firm shoulder.

The woodwork was magnificent, Atem marvelling at it while trailing a hand along the walls. His people would have wept to see such craftsmanship further inland.

The lower decks were dim, despite the open portholes with light flooding in, but Atem had no trouble. He was grateful to see that enough time had passed that any bodies that could be here had long since been eaten, or moulded away to nothingness. He couldn’t even taste a taint in the water, nothing but salt-rotted wood, old rusting iron, and -

“Gold,” Atem murmured to himself, pushing deeper into the wreckage. He may have no monetary use for gold, but it reminded him of his past life, the glimmer singing to him so bittersweetly.

The last door was already open, the room much brighter than the rest of the ship. Captain’s quarters possibly, then. The almost floor-to-ceiling windows were the next indicator, a few of them even still containing glass in the frames. A large elaborate desk was up against the furthest wall, having slid messily along the slightly cock-eyed floor from the ship’s tilt.

But what really caught Atem’s eye was the chest, open and inviting. The chest itself was unassuming, most likely for security’s sake, but all the security in the world was useless when its contents were overspilling like froth over the lip of a beer mug.

Atem floated over with a flip of his tail, hardly a thought in the matter. Coins he did not particularly care for. Jewellry was what he adored, and was gleeful to find it in generous amounts. The pearl necklaces were already scattered, the string long since decayed. A crown with copious amounts of gems inlaid into it was interesting to look at, but not his taste.

Ah, but this, this elegant thin cuff cut and carved and beaten into the shape of a bird in flight was most definitely his taste. It was a little big, but not enough to fall off his wrist. It slipped on smoothly, the gold having held up well despite the salty water.

He held up his wrist to the light, delighting in the warm glint it gave off. “Beautiful, is it not?”

Wait… he did not say that.

Atem bristled in alarm and whirled around instantly, back to the wall.

The man was sitting in the captain’s chair as if he had been there all along, one leg up and crossed over the other. He eyed Atem amusedly, if not sharply, toying with a thin sword that he balanced on its tip with one finger, the point digging into the floor.

His hair was wild and ruffled, swaying in the current along with his elegant and flamboyant clothes. One violet eye peeped out from between golden bangs, pinning Atem still with his gaze.

All of this would have been even more alarming, seeing as how the ship was currently many leagues under the sea, if not for the very obvious opacity of the man’s form.

“Now that I have your attention,” the man flicked the sword up and into his hand as if it was merely a toy, pointing it towards Atem. “What are you doing on my ship?”

 

 

[(Link to full art)](http://kudalyn.tumblr.com/post/177028122258)

 

\--------------

 

“Why are you here again?” Yugi asked tiredly, leaning heavily against the wall as he watched the siren digging through yet another crate he had pried open. This one held nothing but clay pots, most shattered during the storm that sank the ship, but a few were still in good shape and those were the ones Atem brought out carefully.

“I’m beginning to suspect you don’t enjoy my company,” Atem said playfully, choosing the nicest pot and tucking it under his arm.

“What gave it away?” Yugi sighed. “The whole ‘get off my ship before I skewer you’ or the ‘These are my treasures, get your fishy hands off of them?’”

“The second one, possibly.” Atem chuckled, swimming past Yugi without a care in the world while the ghost heaved the world’s most weary sigh.

“Why aren’t you intimidated by me? Or at the least bit wary, it really hurts my feelings to have you disregard me so blatantly.” Yugi woed, a dramatic hand on his chest as he turned to follow Atem through the doorway.

Atem turned to look at Yugi. The pirate walked behind him, or as close of an approximation of walking as a ghost could do. His feet stayed firmly planted on the wood beneath him, even though the floor was tilted and in order to stand upright he had to lean a little to the right. The siren didn’t understand why Yugi refused to just float around like he did, and asking him directly only gave him misdirection to another topic, so he had given up on it.

“I do not disregard you. If I disregarded you, I would either completely ignore you while exploring your ship, or completely avoid your ship entirely,” Atem said, watching Yugi catch up to him.

“Avoiding my ship would be the wise thing to do,” Yugi said, arms crossed behind his back.

“But where’s the fun in that?” Atem grinned, smiling wider at Yugi’s eye-roll. “Besides, I’m quite positive you enjoy my company at least a small amount. Otherwise you would have followed through with your threat to turn me into freshly-cleaned fish steaks a long time ago.”

Yugi groaned at Atem’s cheek, hiding his face in a hand. “Which is what I should have done the first time I saw you swim onto my ship.”

That certainly wasn’t a ‘no’ he was hearing.

 

\-----

 

“Goddamnit!” Yugi cursed, moving as if to flip the board perched between them on the barrel, but Atem knew it was all a playful act.

“Your winning streak had to end at some point.” Atem was smug, enjoying Yugi’s faux temper tantrum thoroughly.

Nothing had delighted Atem more than finding an entire room on the ship dedicated to crates upon crates of games. Mostly board games had survived the drowning, though some of them had sadly warped beyond usability.

The Draughts board had its checkerboard pattern inlaid with stone however, along with the pieces, so it had held up magnificently. The rules as Atem knew them from his time really hadn’t changed much, aside from the name, and he had picked up on it quickly.

Yugi had been close to chasing Atem right off of his ship when he had found his most precious of treasure hordes, but the siren’s enthusiasm curbed that anger quickly, and even moreso when Atem proved to be very - _very_ - proficient in games.

Yugi couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun playing a game against someone else. Then again, there was much Yugi couldn’t remember about his past anymore.

“Best twenty-three out of forty-five?” Atem asked, eyes glittering as he started setting the board back up.

“And what do I get if I win?” Yugi asked, perching his chin on an elbow propped up on his knee.

Atem paused, surprised almost. “Uhm,” his brow wrinkled in a manner Yugi could call endearing if he allowed himself.

“Hows about a pretty song from the pretty siren?” Yugi offered, picking up where Atem had left off putting the stone pieces in place.

Atem’s eyes widened, a flush on his cheeks that was likely as bright as his scarlet scales but otherwise hidden by his rich skin tone. “I - I haven’t sang for another in a long time.”

Yugi looked up at Atem. “What? Not even the smallest little ditty to drag a poor unsuspecting sailor to his watery doom?”

Atem frowned. “I do not do that.” He almost sounded offended. “Even if I was a siren of that inclination, it’s dangerous for our kind to go above water. Has been as long as I can remember.”

Now Yugi was intrigued. “Really? Because from what I know, your kind are the scourge of the seas, beautiful bodies and even more beautiful voices bringing doom to many a hapless sea-faring man or woman for an easy meal.”

“Is that what humans think of us now?” Atem’s face scrunched up at the thought. “Humans don’t seem very appetizing to me at all.”

Yugi’s eyes roamed Atem’s form. Instead of the usual smooth fishy form and fins at the tail, Atem’s lower half was sinuous and long, leaf-like fins sprouting out at intervals all the way to the dainty tip.

Yugi hummed. “Well, considering your shape, I’m not terribly surprised.” A wide grin split his face. “You seem more of an algae-sucker to me.”

Atem’s outraged, sputtering face was priceless.

 

\-----------

 

“I’m actually very sure you cannot get drunk.” Atem said as Yugi very nearly tripped off the table for the third time.

“Says you!” Yugi slurred, a wide grin on his face to match his shiny eyes. In one hand was a rum bottle, the other wine, both empty but Yugi still pantomimed drinking from them in such a genuine fashion Atem was considering changing his opinion.

“B-wahhh!” Yugi gasped, coming up for air from a particularly long chug. “You do know what ghosts get drunk on best, don’t you?”

“...No?” Atem allowed, feeling the end of the hook coming but unwilling to leave Yugi hanging.

“Spirits!” Yugi cheeked, grinning ever wider when Atem groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“Oh, that was bad,” He moaned, Yugi cackling wildly at him as he spun around.

Atem dodged the empty bottle being swung in his direction. Yugi may be spectral, but the bottles in his hands were very much not, as well as the most gaudy jewelry the ghost could find in his collection.

The crown was far too big for his head, so it drooped off of the side over his ear. He had about eight necklaces of varying sizes around his neck, a few draped across his hips as belts, all topped off with so many bangles and rings Atem was surprised he could move his hands at all.

“Come, Atem. Join me! Your sourpuss mood is ruining the atmosphere,” Yugi all but whined, shaking an empty bottle at him.

“I’m quite content to watch you make a fool of yourself, thank you,” Atem teased, chin in his hand as he watched Yugi attempt some form of shimmy across the table. He smiled at Yugi’s scoff and the loud jingling that followed his movement.

The mess hall was empty save for themselves. Most of the tables and benches that had filled the hall were piled up to one side, having slid there when the ship sank. A few had been dragged to the very middle of the room at some point in time, Atem assumed by Yugi for reasons unknown, and those were the ones Yugi was enjoying himself with.

“We need music!” Yugi exclaimed loudly. “You can’t have a good time without music.” He whirled on Atem, pointing at him with one chunky-ringed finger. “Siren! Sing for us!”

Atem scrunched up his nose at the order. “I’m not a music box. I only sing when I want to, and not for entertainment.”

Yugi waved him off with a scoff. “Fine, be that way. I’ll be the one to supply the music, then!”

And much to Atem’s shock, Yugi did.

He started belting out a rough, jaunty tune. Very clearly made for a large group of people to join in, but the ghost made a good show of it. His voice was smooth, or would be if he wasn’t pseudo-drunk, but it was still enjoyable to listen to.

The tune wrapped its way around Atem, filling him up and causing him to tap on the table in time. He hadn’t heard a song from someone else’s lips in centuries, and it was unbearably sweet to the siren. He tried very hard to refrain, for he refused to sing for a long time, having loathed the power his voice had over humans. But still he found himself humming quietly along with Yugi, the melody beckoning to him like a lover.

He didn’t realize he was fully singing along till he noticed Yugi’s eyes on him, wide with delight as the solo became a duet. Finding himself unable to refrain, he rolled his eyes when Yugi tossed the bottles somewhere carelessly and danced his way back down the table towards him.

Atem’s melody stuttered when Yugi grabbed the golden cuffs around his wrists - the ghost able to touch physical objects but not his body -  and bent down to haul Atem up onto the table with him.

Keeping their hands clasped in a couple’s dance pose, Yugi tugged the other wrist around his waist. Atem’s hand immediately held to steady himself, pressed on the gold wrapped around the ghost’s waist, while Yugi’s free hand rested against the golden collar around Atem’s throat.

Like this, Yugi began leading Atem around the table with him, still singing jovially. The siren went willingly, mistified into silence with sparkling eyes as Yugi swung him around with ease. Their pose wasn’t perfect, but it did the trick, and a feeling of something warm and large swelled in Atem’s chest.

Needing some way to release that pressure, Atem joined Yugi in song again, flushing when the ghost winked at him. The way Yugi spun them around made it easier for Atem to focus on his face, and not the blurry shapes of everything around them and through him.

Their gazes were locked tight, each unable nor willing to pull apart. They drew closer together as they spun faster and faster, the gold around Yugi’s neck and waist pressing against Atem’s chest and hips, a mockery of their bodies flush together.

It wasn’t until the song ended that the two of them realized they had stopped dancing, their chests heaving as they both did their own form of catching their breath. Their grip on their respective jewelry was tight, and shaking, their eyes shimmering and searching the other’s.

Yugi was so close to Atem, the siren could even trick himself into feeling Yugi’s breath against his lips.

“Well!” Yugi suddenly pulled back, letting go so quickly of Atem that the siren flailed a little to steady himself. “That was… quite fun!”

Atem watched with wide eyes as Yugi cleared his throat and got down off the table, rearranging his necklaces and belts in a ruffled fashion. Atem decided to not point out that Yugi’s ‘drunken’ swaying and manner had long since completely evaporated.

“Yes,” Atem said softly, heart clenching when Yugi looked at him shyly over his shoulder. “Yes, it was.”

 

\----------

 

The siren had taken to wearing the jewelry he had stolen off of Yugi’s ship more often, as if mocking the pirate with his blatant thievery.

Yugi refused to admit to himself the new large golden hoops Atem had dripping from his earlobes accented his skin very lovingly.

“How do you expect to swim swiftly with all of that weighing you down?” Yugi asked, motioning to all of Atem’s form as the siren was currently occupied with latching any and every necklace he could find into one long chain, draping it along his body in swoops over and around his fins.

“I don’t,” Atem said simply, inspecting a rather large sapphire pendant. “I’m merely having fun.”

Yugi hummed absently as Atem swapped the pendant with a smaller lapis lazuli, seeming much more content with the choice.

The ghost himself really had no real need for all this treasure, not that he’d ever admit it. But what good was Yugi  if he wasn’t guarding all this wealth? For what other reason was he still down on the seafloor, trapped upon this sunken hunk of wood?

These were questions that Yugi dismissed from his mind as usual, focusing instead on the siren who seemed steadfast in his decision to spend most of his freedom cooped up inside the ship with him.

A stupid decision, really. But Yugi found he had fewer and fewer reasons to complain the more Atem spent time with him.

The siren frowned when he tried draping the lazuli pendant across his shoulders, only the stone proved too heavy and dragged the chain to droop somewhere around his navel.

“Necklaces are supposed to be around the neck, hence the name.” Yugi teased playfully.

Atem huffed at him. “I’m… trying to recreate an ornament that was very popular in my time,” He said, picking up the lazuli pendant to rest in his palm. “It was a broad collar-like necklace that hung across the shoulders and collarbone, usually decorated with many beads and precious stones.”

“Can’t say I’ve seen anything like that.” Yugi said, watching as Atem shortened the chain on the pendant so it hung about his clavicle properly.

“No, I’d guess you wouldn’t,” Atem said sadly. “I suspect there’s very little left of my culture in the world anymore.”

Yugi frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Atem deflected, turning away to rummage more through the chest of gold to find something new. “Are you using this right now?”

“Yes.”

Atem looked over at Yugi, flopped across a molding, disintegrating lounge chair with probably half of its innards missing. His blouse was half unbuttoned, fluttering in some spectral breeze - or the current, it was hard to tell. A large hat was almost falling off his head in a nonchalant manner, but Atem knew it was carefully poised as such.

“Really?” Atem asked dryly.

“Mnh.” Yugi had pulled a new rum bottle out of nowhere and was chugging it… or miming drinking just for the whole theme he was going with. At least Atem was beginning to suspect it was an act, for how heavily Yugi laid on the stereotypes.

Even with ages between them, it seemed pirates would always be seen as drunken layabouts.

“What exactly are you using it for?” Atem asked as he inspected the jewelry. It was a golden cuff of some size, inlaid with gems. Possibly meant for a wrist, but awfully large and rather gaudy. It had suffered minor salt water damage, the surface not as smooth as it used to be, but held up surprisingly well.

“Decoration, obviously.” Yugi said with a chirp, and Atem couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Lucky for you, it’s not my style.” Atem said, letting it fall back onto the rest of the half-spilled chest. “Oh, but this is!”

He picked up a simple gold collar, the hinge hidden in the light pattern beaten into the metal while the clasp was at the back.

Yugi watched unhelpfully as Atem fussed with the clasp, the metal stuck with sea grunge. “And what exactly makes you believe you can just walk away with my treasure?”

Atem grinned at Yugi without looking up. “Same reason you’ve already let me swim away with any other bit of your hoard that I’ve liked.”

Atem also didn’t have to look up to know Yugi had a similar smile on his face, though he knew he tried to hide it behind an imaginary swig of his bottle again.

“Ah!” Atem exclaimed as the little pin finally came loose, juggling it a moment as it nearly slid free from his fingers. “Finally.”

With careful but practiced fingers, Atem looped the collar around his neck, finding the slot for the pin and sliding it home. He sighed - the weight was familiar, comforting. He hadn’t expected to find something like this in Yugi’s stash, but he was glad he did.

“Very nice, isn’t it?” Atem said, turning to Yugi.

He spotted the soft expression on Yugi’s face before he looked away, clearing his throat. “Yeah, somewhat.”

“Somewhat?” Atem said, swimming up to him with an elegant flick of his fins that he knew caught and held Yugi’s eye.

Atem didn’t touch him, placing his hands delicately on the couch on either side of Yugi, his multitude of fins helping him float perfectly above the ghost with hardly any effort.

“I was hoping for a little more than ‘somewhat’ from you, Yugi,” He said quietly, so close to Yugi he could see the stars in his eyes if he focused on them and not the back of the couch just visible through Yugi’s form.

“Atem, please don’t,” Yugi whispered, looking away and unable to keep his gaze with the siren.

Atem pulled away from Yugi reluctantly, but knowing he had gone a bit too far. “My apologies, Yugi.”

“No, Atem.” Yugi’s voice was quiet, distant. Ghostly. “The apologies are mine.”

 

\---------

 

“You shouldn’t be in here,” Yugi said, following the exploring siren but not stopping him.

Atem looked over his shoulder at Yugi, surprised. “You haven’t said that to me in quite some time,” He turned back to look through the door that had been hidden by boxes of all sizes, until he had moved the pile and uncovered the frame. “What’s different about this room?”

Yugi sighed. “I already know I can’t stop you when you’re on a mission, so…” He merely leaned in the doorway as the siren’s insatiable curiosity led him further into the room.

It was a small room, very dark with only the slimmest of ambient light filtering from the open doorway. There was a porthole, but it faced the sandy bottom of the seafloor, some grains collecting on the wooden floor. It had appeared to be someone’s living quarters, at one point lavishly decorated, but much of it decayed with age. There was a covered mirror off to one side, frames on the walls with the paintings rotted out of them from the salt water. At the corner was a bed, or what was left of it, cloth piled up in relatively good condition given how it had been sealed in.

Atem hummed, inspecting. The desk was attached to the wall to avoid sliding, the drawers billowing out soupy pulp from where paper had been tucked inside and had disintegrated in the salt water.

The siren couldn’t help but cough, waving the paper fibers away so his gills didn’t inhale it. The pile of clothing on the bed intrigued him, and upon floating over he picked gingerly at the fabric.

It seemed to be simple but good quality linen, cotton and even what could have been silk at one point. This person must have been well-off, the leather belt and vest even distinguishable despite its weathering.

In fact, the clothing seemed somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it before - oh, there was a bone.

A bone?

Atem immediately backpedaled when a skull lolled out from the rumpled shirt, unseeing and grinning at his shock. Yugi walked forward as Atem’s back slapped against the furthest wall, the siren watching as the ghost picked up the skeleton draped in clothing. He held it to his chest and swung it around in a dancer’s pose, one arm held aloft while the other clutched to the ribcage.

“A man who died as he lived. Beautiful and _fabulous!_ ” Yugi exclaimed dramatically as the skull flopped forward against its collarbone, the bones held in place by the slimmest of sinew.

“By the gods, that’s _you_ ,” Atem hushed aghast, face impressively pale.

“Ahuh,” Yugi said carelessly, looking down at what was left of the body, a sombre mockery of the spirit holding it up. “The only person here who had to wear compensation heels, yet pulled it off perfectly.”

Atem tried to keep his breathing shallow and even as Yugi placed the skeleton back on the bed, reclining against the ratty pillows. The skull finally snapped free and rolled down the body to flop somewhere near the hips.

“Ah, no you don’t, you handsome devil,” Yugi said, picking up the skull and balancing it back in place, using a pillow to prop it up. He stood up, hands on his ghostly hips as he inspected the pose of the skeleton. “I’ve drooped since I last placed myself, but then again it has been a while since I’ve checked in on it. I’ve lost quite a bit of weight!”

Yugi turned to look at Atem, smile dropping when he saw how ashen the siren was. Without another word, he walked forward - and with the gold bands looped around Atem’s biceps, helped steer Atem out of the room. The siren’s eyes stayed locked with the skull’s empty sockets until they were out of sight.

He sat Atem down on a crate in the captain’s quarters, the siren allowing the man-handling in his shock. He jolted when something was thrust in his face - a bottle of rum, still sealed with wax.

Atem didn’t particularly like rum, let alone alcohol that had been sitting down on the seafloor for who knew how long so all the taste had likely rotted out of it, but he appreciated the offer nonetheless. The bleached bone of Yugi’s skull flashed in his mind again, and Atem grimaced as he broke the wax seal and pulled the cork.

The small bubble that had been in the bottle rushed past him as seawater immediately attempted to replace the alcohol, but Atem pushed the bottle against his lips and forced a swig.

Oh, it was sharp, and that was clear on his expression as he choked it down past the burn. He slapped a palm over the rim of the bottle as he pulled it away, shuddering as it worked its way down his throat.

It was a good distraction however, and helped bring him back to the present. He looked up to see Yugi sitting across from him on another crate, expression as concerned as he’d ever seen it.

“You okay?” The ghost asked, and Atem nodded briskly.

“I - I will be,” He said, the alcohol sitting warmly in his empty stomach.

Yugi cocked his head to the side, inspecting. “I never would have thought a skeleton could shock a siren so badly, seeing as how most legends revolve around your kind eating mine,” He said lightly, ignoring Atem’s scowl.

Atem looked down at the bottle in his lap, still frowning. “It’s… been quite some time since I’ve seen a corpse, and usually I can tell they’re around by the scent of rotted flesh in the water, or the abundance of fish so I can avoid them.” He rolled the bottle in his grip, picking at the glass. “It was - a surprise, I guess. And plus the fact… that it’s yours.”

Yugi leaned back, shrugging. “What did you expect? I’m dead,” he said bluntly, expression flat. “And I have been for quite some time.”

Atem’s expression twisted. “Yes, but… it was still a shock.”

Yugi paused, before nodding in consideration. “I suppose it was.”

The conversation trailed off, Atem unable to get his words in order and Yugi seemingly content with sitting in silence. After a few more swigs of rum that burned their way down Atem’s throat, he finally felt bold enough to ask.

“Why was your body hidden away like that?” he asked, squeezing the cork back in the bottle. Any more and he’d start to get tipsy, something he didn’t want to experience right then.

Yugi was quiet for another moment, chewing on his lip. “I didn’t need yet another reminder. I have enough of them every day that I’m still stuck on this ship, every day that I watch you swim away freely while I can’t even take a single step onto the sands below.”

Yugi’s voice was bitter, but Atem knew it wasn’t aimed in his direction.

Atem thought about how Yugi’s body had been placed on the bed so carefully, how the room was sealed off so still and sombre in the darkness, the doorway hidden from prying eyes.

It reminded him all too much of the tombs his people had buried their loved ones in, to be never opened or plundered of their eternal rest. And he thought on how Yugi had warned him, but hadn’t stopped him from exploring, only watching with a withdrawn expression on his face. Yugi’s spirit may not have moved on yet, but Atem had disturbed his body’s resting place recklessly.

“Don’t apologise,” Yugi cut in before Atem could even open his mouth. “You didn’t mean anything bad by exploring, and if I had really not wanted you to go in there I would have tried harder to stop you.” Yugi shrugged his shoulders. “I probably should have warned you at least,” he said regretfully. “But what’s done is done. I just hope you don’t think less of me for this now.”

Atem shook his head. “No, I’d never. There’s nothing to think less of. Everyone mourns in their own ways.”

Yugi sighed. “Well, not too much mourning here anymore.” He leaned back on his hands, crossing a leg. “Mostly just haunting.”

Atem knew Yugi was trying to lighten the mood, and let the ghost direct the conversation onto a different topic.

Later, when Yugi was distracted, Atem quietly went back to Yugi’s room and piled the crates reverently in front of the closed door, resealing his tomb with respect.

 

\--------

 

“Another win for me!” Yugi said gleefully, slapping down the stone piece with far too much enthusiasm.

Atem groaned, running his hands through his hair. “Why can’t I beat you in this game?!”

It was a simple enough game, using similar pieces to Draughts but with a smaller grid and no checker pattern. But Atem could count his wins on one hand, and it had been weeks, almost months since Yugi had taught him how to play.

Yugi grinned, swooping the pieces into their respective cups on the side of the board. “I’ve been playing Mercenaries since I was a kid, Atem. My grandfather taught me as soon as I was old enough to hold the pieces. You’d have to live a lifetime to be able to beat me.”

Atem grumbled as he watched Yugi sort the pieces. “Doesn’t mean you’re allowed to gloat so much.”

“What else could I possibly gloat about?” Yugi said, chuckling. He scratched at his chest, something he’d started to do recently. “Say, do you know where my Gramps might be? He owes me some drachmas after our last bet.”

Atem froze mid-preparation of their next match. He looked up at Yugi, noting the confused, distant look on his face.

“...Yugi?” He asked, tentatively.

“Hm?” Yugi turned back to Atem, and the distant look was completely gone. “Oh, ready for another thrashing? I’m starting to expect you’re a glutton for punishment.”

Atem blinked a few times, mystified.

 

\---------

 

The next day Atem found Yugi in the captain’s quarters as usual. But instead of lounging on his favourite sofa or setting up a new board in anticipation, Yugi was standing against the captain’s desk, staring down at the blank wood.

“Yugi?” Atem asked. Yugi turned to look at him, but his gaze was foggy, distant.

“Do you know where my father is? I haven’t seen him at all this morning and we’re supposed to go over the map today to make sure we’re on course.” he asked, rubbing at his chest absently.

Atem felt a chill settle in his bones that had nothing to do with the current. He pressed a hand against the doorframe, most of his body hidden out in the hallway. “...Yugi? Are you alright?”

“Hm? Yes, I’m fine, why?” Yugi’s eyes were unfocused, almost looking past Atem at something he couldn’t see.

Atem pushed off from the doorframe, gliding over to the ghost. As Yugi’s eyes focused on him, the cloudy look seemed to fade as he took in Atem’s very much not human form.

“Ah, Atem - I was just…” If ghosts had blood, all of Yugi’s would have rushed from his face. As such, he did an excellent pantomime of an ashen fade, all but collapsing against the desk behind him. “Right, Atem, you were going to teach me how to play Senet today…”

“Yugi,” Atem floated next to him, placing a hand on his bicep. He could never fully touch Yugi, too much pressure and he’d go right through. But just the right amount and he could almost feel Yugi’s form, a tingle against his skin.

Yugi ran a hand roughly through his hair, ruffling it even more wildly than before. “I - sorry, I don’t, know why I asked that… how did I forget we never made it to port?” His voice was strained, distressed.

Atem, however, knew the signs well. Yugi was not the first ghost he’d met in his life, nor the first he’d befriended. But he was certainly one of the few he had truly grown attached to, and the looming truth on the horizon made his heart clench tightly.

“It’s okay. Sometimes we forget things,” he said soothingly, mimicking rubbing Yugi’s arm in comfort. “I should know, I’m an old man by your standards.”

That earned a snort out of Yugi, looking at him through his fingers. “Really? How old are you, then?”

“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest,” Atem said, glad to pull the topic off of Yugi and onto himself. “I was a young man when I drowned, trying to lead my people to victory in battle. Seafaring battles aren’t our strong point however, something that was crushed into us when our ships were decimated.”

They went quiet for a moment, Yugi somber and Atem thoughtful. “In hindsight I most likely should have pulled back to land to reinforce our numbers at the docks, but I was young and reckless, and I thought we were invincible with the gods on our sides.”

It was Atem’s turn to snort. “I was very wrong, obviously. As you can see,” he said, gesturing to his sinewy body. “Though possibly the gods saw fit to put me in this form for one reason or another. Punishment, or apology, I still haven’t figured it out yet.”

Yugi looked down at his tail quietly for a few moments. “So… you were a prince or something?”

Atem grinned. “A king.”

Yugi chuckled. “Prin _cess_ , then. I should have guessed, from how much you covet my treasure.” he teased, enjoying Atem’s undignified squawk. “So, again, how old are you?”

Atem pondered for a moment. “It’s harder to keep track of the seasons down here, but I’d estimate somewhere in the centuries, though an exact number I’m not sure of.”

Yugi’s eyebrows went up as he let out a short whistle. “Well, an elderly princess to boot. Maybe I should let you take all my spoils. Least I can do for royalty,” he said, bowing at the waist in mild mockery.

Atem swatted at his head, but his hand passed right through. The message was clear though, and Yugi wandered away from the desk laughing.

“So, milord, were you going to teach me how to play Senet after all, or just rub your royal-ness in my face?” he cheeked, walking backwards with a sway in his step.

Atem huffed. He’d meant to cheer Yugi up, and it seemed he succeeded - though giving Yugi more ammunition to tease wasn’t his intention. “I came to teach, yes, but we’ll have to find the right pieces and board to use. Are you familiar with counting sticks?”

 

\----------

 

As the days passed, Atem was starting to suspect that Yugi had been forgetting things long before Atem came around - there was no way someone as kind as Yugi could have been a _pirate_ of all things - but his arrival into Yugi’s daily life had somehow paused the process, something new for Yugi to focus on and learn and keep his soul anchored.

But now whatever boon he had initially brought had passed. Part of Atem was glad that Yugi was fading, however painful it was to him. Souls bound to the earth through resentment, anger, or regret were doomed to eventually fade as their purpose in life faded with them. But fading had to be a better fate than sitting stuck eternally as a ghost, unable to interact with the world outside of their ship.

He was never sure if the spirits he once knew moved on to the afterlife to be with their kin, or if they were fed to Ammit for harboring such negativity for so long. He could never ask a spirit once it was gone, after all.

“Ugh, I hope the cook doesn’t try to experiment tonight,” Yugi said, the two of them sitting once more in the empty mess hall with a few game boards between them. Atem was attempting to hash together a form of the Royal Game of Ur, and they were having a good time of it despite the mismatch of boards and pieces.

The siren shifted in his seat. Benches weren’t made with fins in mind. “...Oh?” Atem said, sighing at the misty look in Yugi’s eyes.

The ghost had been having minor relapses more frequently, like his living memories were overlapping with his current ones. So far Yugi hadn’t forgotten him yet, but Atem was dreading the inevitable.

“Yeah, don’t you remember the awful stuff he made last time? Tried breading the fish with grease since we’re out of eggs. The breading came off and the fish fell apart in the cooking oil. He tried scooping it out and serving it, but it was so greasy nobody could stomach it.” Yugi scrunched his face up as he relived the memory. “He got a real earful from Father for that, wasting food. I have a feeling we’re going to have a new cook when we reach the port.”

“Oh, yes, possibly,” Atem said mildly, letting Yugi work his way through the memories. More and more Yugi was treating him as just another crew mate, someone to play games with and pass the time. Even if Yugi didn’t recognize Atem as a siren, at least he still had a place in Yugi’s mind. It was a minor balm.

“...I’m just glad that we didn’t have to eat the fish that night,” Atem finished, placing down a new piece on the board.

“What? Why?” Yugi asked, gaze foggy but focused on him.

“You’ll never guess what food I dislike the most,” he grinned, chuckling when Yugi leaned even closer in curiosity. “Fish.”

Yugi blinked a few times before bursting out into laughter, head thrown back and whooping like it was the most hilarious thing he’d ever heard.

Atem loved hearing Yugi’s laughter, bright and cheerful. The fact that he’d told Yugi this ‘joke’ about a dozen times before already stung, but the knowledge that he could bring Yugi joy anew each time helped soothe the pain.

“What?! Why on earth did you become a sailor then?!” Yugi cackled, almost shaking the table. “What else is there to eat that’s fresh on the open sea? You’re mad!”

“Maybe so,” Atem said, quietly enjoying Yugi’s chuckling at his expense.

It was a few days before the next relapse occurred, Yugi suddenly getting up from their weekly game of Mercenaries. It was abrupt, his form jostling the board enough Atem had to grab it with both hands to balance it.

“Yugi?! What’s wrong?” Atem sputtered, startled.

“I just remembered I’m late for the meeting!” Yugi said, looking around as if he had forgotten a coat. “My father’s gonna tear me a new one, I’ve been late to the last three.”

“Yugi, wait!” Atem called out, but Yugi was already out the door.

“We’ll finish our game later!” he hollered, ghostly footsteps fading down the hallway.  

Atem sat stunned, unsure of his next move. Yugi’s jostling had unsettled the game pieces so much that Atem wasn’t sure of their positions, so he quietly shuffled them into their cups instead of leaving them out to be lost.

He pondered what to do next - to go look for Yugi or wait - when the decision was made for him. Yugi trudged in the doorway, face white and eyes wide.

Atem immediately rushed over to him, hovering. “Yugi!” he hushed, unsettled by his companion’s expression.

“I did it again, didn’t I?” Yugi asked, voice hollow.

Atem didn’t have to ask to know what Yugi meant. He nodded, swallowing. “I’m afraid so.”

Yugi slumped onto the nearest crate, burrowing his hands into his hair in his distress. It was a habit Atem was beginning to hate the more he saw it.

“What am I going to do?!” Yugi’s voice was thick with fear. “I’m losing it! I keep forgetting I’m dead, and then when I go and see nobody around, or I walk out on deck and see nothing but ocean and reefs…”

Atem’s hands clenched in fists, feeling nothing but anguish along with his friend. He settled beside Yugi, silent but stoic as he listened to Yugi’s panicked breathing. Atem truly didn’t know what to do. Nothing he could do would prevent Yugi’s memories from fading. It was just what happened. Souls weren’t meant to stay on the mortal plane without a body.

Eventually, a soft melody began lilting through the room. It took a bit of time for Atem to realize it was him making that sound - a soft humming song, soothing under his breath. He hadn’t meant to start singing, but he was still a siren, and singing was instinctual.

The melody was wordless, though Atem recognized a few notes from his culture’s prayers mixed in, whispers from a forgotten culture. He was singing from the heart, for his friend, for his own memories of old. Sharing his pain and trying to sooth his companion’s own.

After a bit of time Atem opened his eyes, unaware they had slipped closed. At his side Yugi remained, though he had shuffled closer and was leaning in his shoulder, Atem’s side feeling fuzzy from the contact.

“Thank you,” Yugi said, voice wet with unshed tears.

“My pleasure,” Atem said, keeping it to himself that the song was as much for him as it was for Yugi.

 

\----

 

One day, after a frantic search through the ship when he had woken up with Yugi nowhere in sight, Atem found Yugi sitting out on the deck. Atem had developed a habit of sleeping in the ship instead of wandering back to his grotto, wanting to spend his time with Yugi knowing he might one day return only to have him gone.

Yugi was perched on the very edge of the ship’s railing, one leg up while the other dangled off the side. His gaze was far and melancholic, not even twitching when Atem swam up to sit beside him.

The only sound was the gentle rushing of water, the sound carrying down from the waves far above their heads. The light was gentle and soft, blues and pinks with a splash of color from the reefs dotting the sea floor. It would have been relaxing, romantic even if the tone wasn’t so somber.

“I’m not actually a pirate, you know,” Yugi muttered, voice somewhat muffled from where he had buried his chin in his elbow, propped up on his knee.

Atem faked his shock, placing a hand on his chest like he’d seen Yugi do dramatically so many times. “Really?! No, that’s impossible!”

That drew a chuckle out of Yugi at least. “You ass,” he laughed, before sobering quickly. His dangling leg kicked free over the edge.

“Thanks to my… episodes, I’m remembering more than I used to. Dredging up old memories, I guess,” he huffed, shrugging with one shoulder.

Atem kept silent, more than willing to listen and keep him company.

“My father and grandfather were merchants, and I was one as well. This ship was our family’s pride and joy. She had been through many storms and weathered them all, but… I guess this last one was more than she could take.” He sucked in a breath, shuddering lightly. “This had been a routine trip, I’d been traveling with them since I came of age. We knew it well, we knew this sea well. We’d even prepared for the storm, seeing it coming from far away.”

Yugi’s fist clenched tight, knuckles bleaching. “I’d rushed below deck to the cargo hold to help secure some cargo that had snapped loose. Routine stuff. But… the storm tossed the boat sharply, and next thing I knew, I was crushed under multiple crates.”

Atem watched as Yugi rubbed at his chest again. “They were so heavy, I could hardly breathe, let alone yell for help. Not like anyone could have probably heard me, with the thunder.”

“Yugi…” Atem breathed.

Yugi shook his head. “Next thing I knew the ship was sitting on the ocean floor, and I was see-through.” He chuckled hollowly. “I have no idea what happened in the end, or who survived. There were a few other bodies on the ship, some of our crew, but I’m the only spirit. I… tossed the other’s bodies overboard, so they could at least be free of the ship.”

The ghost sighed, tipping his head back. “I’m afraid, Atem. I’m losing more of myself each day. Even the memories I’ve remembered are fading. I can feel it.” His throat bobbed in a hard swallow. “I dread to think of the day when I’ll even forget you, the one bright constant in my life now.”

“Yugi!!” Atem hushed, voice strangled. To hear such feelings, so sweet to his heart, spoken in such a heartbreaking tone…

“My days were blurry and boring and empty, so much so that I forgot nearly all that made me who I was. I begged for death so many days, but I was already dead. I had just about given up on everything - until you came along. So brilliant, so beautiful, yet I’m just a haunting spirit of a dead vessel.” Yugi’s voice was thick. “And after all you’ve given me, I’m still to just forget it all and fade? Without having a chance to give anything back to you?”

“You’ve given me so much, Yugi!” Atem said, reaching out a hand to try and grab Yugi’s own, but only passing through and gripping the same spot Yugi was on the handrail. It’d have to do. “I haven’t had someone so engaging, so wonderful to talk to in centuries. You’ve shared your treasures, your games, your memories with me. I’d give anything to be able to keep you with me, but you deserve so much more than being tied to this ship as a phantom.”

Yugi’s chin was quivering as he tried to keep himself together, tears shimmering unshed in his eyes. “Thank you, _thank you_ , Atem. But I’d give anything - even if I had to spend the rest of eternity as a spectre - if it meant I would to be able to spend more time with you.”

Something was bubbling up in Atem’s chest, in his throat, leaking out through his eyes as hot tears. He leaned closer, close enough for Yugi’s form to pass through his, but it was as close to holding Yugi as he could get.

Yugi’s memories deteriorated rapidly after that moment. Yugi barely even acknowledged Atem was there half the time, too busy reliving memories, holding unseen conversations with people from his past.

It crushed Atem’s heart to see Yugi like this. Each passing day, Yugi’s visible form faded more. Some days he was barely a wisp. There were good times, where Yugi acted like all of the sadness was in the past, teasing Atem and playing games like normal. But the moment would quickly pass, and Yugi would stand up and wander off in the middle of their match, to run some errand that was long since gone. There seemed to be no pattern to the unravelling of his mind.

There was nothing Atem could do at this point. Yet still, he didn’t give up, trying to hold Yugi together. Retelling him stories, re-teaching him games, or asking Yugi to teach him. Anything that would keep Yugi engaged and in the moment, with him.

Yet another morning Atem awoke, stretching out his sore back from sleeping on the ship’s floor. He uncurled his tail forcefully from the barrel he used to anchor himself while he slept - a habit useful anywhere else.

“Yugi?” Atem called, searching the immediate vicinity for his friend. Yugi wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but Atem calmed the initial racing of his heart. He’d gotten used to waking to Yugi gone, the ghost stuck in a loop of a past memory. The trick was finding him quickly.

The usual places turned up empty - the captain’s quarters, the game room, even the mess hall. Then Atem turned to the unusual places - the deck, the hallway to Yugi’s room, the cargo hold. The cargo hold was where he found him finally, curled up in a corner against some crates scattered and piled messily.

Yugi always hated being down in the cargo hold, for now obvious reasons. So seeing the ghost crouched down there, knees drawn up with a distant, lost look on his blank face made Atem’s heart clench in his throat.

Atem drifted over slowly, making his way around the cobwebs of rotted rope and broken wood. “Yugi?” He asked, voice soft as he floated down to Yugi’s level.

The ghost didn’t even flinch. It was as if Atem wasn’t even there. Yugi was lost to the world, his visible form as faint as his focus.

A distressed sound squirmed out of Atem’s throat. He sat down on the floor beside Yugi, close enough his fins tingled as they touched Yugi’s spectral form. He didn’t speak, however. Content to keep silent vigil over his friend, watching motes swirl in the few shafts of light that pierced the darkness through the ship’s hull.

Yugi eventually moved, standing up slowly and walking through the wreckage of the bottom of the ship as if it wasn’t even there. He resumed his routine, heading upstairs to speak to another long gone crewmate. As his memories disappeared, the few that lingered kept repeating, enough that Atem was able to track his movement.

But Atem was counting the days when those would be gone as well, and he would be truly left alone once again.

Late that evening, when the sun has set and the moon was rising, Atem was playing a solitary game of Terni Lapilli. It was a boring, mindless game to play by one’s self, but it passed the time and allowed him some peace. Haunting Yugi’s own haunting was hard on his heart, and he needed a few quiet moments to center himself.

“Atem?” Yugi called, the siren’s name something he never thought he’d hear again from Yugi’s lips. Almost scattering the small game board, Atem jumped, panic making his heart throb.

“I-In here!” he rushed out, loud in his haste as he untangled himself from his sitting position. He didn’t move far however, for Yugi poked his head in the doorway.

“What are you doing all alone in here?” Yugi laughed, and Atem all but melted at the sound directed at him.

“Just… taking a moment, is all.” He said softly, feeling in a daze as Yugi walked in and plopped down on the barrel next to him, frowning down at his game board.

“You’re playing this old thing? This is for kids!” Yugi scoffed. But still he fixed the game pieces from where they had slipped, inspecting the board.

“You know, I think you were winning,” he teased, grinning at Atem, but his grin faded when he saw Atem’s expression.

Atem’s eyes were shimmering with unshed tears, the absolute definition of wonder across his face. It made Yugi squirm, being pinned under such an intense gaze.

“What is it?” he asked shyly, and Atem snapped his mouth shut.

“Nothing, it’s nothing at all,” Atem said, sniffing and clearing his throat before tearing his eyes off of Yugi. “So - uh, I think I could use a better opponent than myself. Would you be up for a few rounds of this ‘kids game’ with me, for fun?”

Yugi’s brow wrinkled ever so slightly, a fond expression on his face as Atem steadfastly avoided looking at him. “I’d be glad to.”

As Yugi shuffled to sit across from Atem, the siren clearing the board and placing the colored pieces on either side for the players, Yugi spoke.

“I’m glad I was blessed with the chance to have met you, Atem,” Yugi whispered softly, watching the moonlight dance across the siren’s face.

Yugi politely ignored the sounds of stifled sobbing as Atem made the first move, his shaky fingers placing the piece on the board.

 

\---------

 

The next morning Atem awoke as the sun filtered down through the sea, but the siren didn’t move from the floor.

He knew.

Yugi had insisted on laying down next to Atem, instead of sleeping on his lounge couch like he used to. As a ghost he never needed to sleep, truly, but he had once confided that he enjoyed the act of normalcy.

Atem was hard pressed to argue, still star-struck by Yugi’s sudden recovery. The ghost’s form was still so very faint, but pressed up as close to Atem as he could be without passing right through him, the siren could see him the clearest he’d been able to in weeks.

He had been terrified to close his eyes, truthfully, something warning and whispering at the back of his mind that if he did it’d be the last time he’d ever see Yugi.

But the ghost brushed intangible fingers through his hair, not even moving the strands but leaving a tickle of a sensation against his scalp, and Atem eventually fell asleep to the gentle petting.

Rolling over to his back, Atem stared at the ceiling. His first instinct was to yell, to cry and sob and scream. But a small part of his heart told him to get up, and check the ship again. Maybe Yugi was just playing out another memory somewhere on the ship, and last night had been but a dream.

Atem kept telling himself that as the day dragged on, torturous moments as he did endless loops around the empty ship. Stem to stern, he searched, the motion mindless but keeping him from collapsing completely.

The more the day passed on, the more the gaping, burning hole in his chest grew. When the sun finally went down, and Yugi was nowhere to be found, Atem finally allowed himself to curl up on Yugi’s lounge couch, and sob himself to sleep.

It took Atem three days before he was brave enough to bury Yugi’s body properly. He tried moving it normally, but the bones had long lost their connections, and rolled loosely against the bedsheets. The sight made Atem laugh hysterically in his strained state.

He settled for gathering up the bedsheets around Yugi’s bones, and carried the bundle reverently off the ship and over the sea floor.

Atem dug a hole some small distance from the ship, the methodic motions of whisking away the sand deep enough that nothing would dislodge the grave keeping him together. While he dug, he thought back on how Yugi’s eyes glittered when he pulled off a particularly good strategy right under Atem’s nose. How his eyes scrunched up as he laughed, how his whole face glowed when he smiled.

How much Atem loved him.

The sea was made a little more salty that day, tears flowing endlessly as Atem dug. He dug until his fins grew weary, and kept going. He dug until his hands were scratched up by the sand and granules were stuck in the wounds, and kept going.

Finally, when he had won his fight against the current and the hole was deep enough, Atem swam back up to his precious bundle. He placed it cloth and all at the bottom of the hole, unravelling it flat so it was a backdrop for gently maneuvering Yugi’s bones back in place.

He didn’t remember each and every bone’s placement, but the clothing helped until Yugi’s remains were resting on the seafloor, arms crossed across his chest in the way Atem’s people buried them.

“I’m sorry I cannot give you the elegant casket you deserve, but I think you’d prefer this. You’ve been in your tomb long enough, my love. Now, you are free,” Atem murmured, gently folding the ends of the sheet over Yugi’s bones to protect them.

As Atem started pushing the sand back in place over Yugi’s grave, his tears transformed to song.

It started out quiet, stuttering through his tears. But it grew in strength until the sound was belting across the ocean floor, his voice a pure expression of the love and loss he had experienced in what was such a short time compared to his existence. But it was no less meaningful, and no less driven deep into his soul.

He sang as he smoothed the sand over Yugi’s grave. He sang as he found a beautiful stone and placed it above the mound. And he sang as he sat upon the sands, until his throat could sing no more.

 

\------------

 

Atem eventually tore himself away from Yugi’s ship. It took some weeks, but he realized that haunting Yugi’s place of rest himself was a shameful way to honor Yugi’s life.

He took a few mementos, aside from the jewellry he had already collected from Yugi’s stash. A shirt from Yugi’s closet that was still in good condition, a few more necklaces and bangles. A signet ring that Yugi had said was a family heirloom while looking down at the symbol with longing. Their game of Mercenaries that they had played so often.

With those items clutched to his chest, Atem departed Yugi’s ship with one last longing look, turning to return back to his grotto.

His home hadn’t changed in his absence, aside from a collection of sand the current had pushed in, and a crab that had the seriously wrong idea of whose home it was. The squatter was promptly evicted.

Atem tried to return back to his life routine he had before he met Yugi. Wandering the sea, keeping an eye out for new shipwrecks or other suspicious things, untangling sea life from abandoned fishing nets.

And it mostly worked, but Atem couldn’t help but gravitate towards Yugi’s ship every few days, as if to make sure it too wouldn’t disappear suddenly one day along with every trace Yugi ever existed.

But the ship stayed where it rested, lonely and painful. Daily visits turned to weeks, turned to months, and upon years Atem learned to live with the hole in his chest.

Yugi’s ring was a constant on his finger, his favourite golden collar a must. On lonely days and nights he’d play with his jewelry and dress up as if displaying for Yugi once again, and every morning he offered what he could remember of a prayer to the dead to rest peacefully.

It was on such a simple morning after his ritual prayer that he drifted past the vicinity of Yugi’s ship, the form of the ship a bit faded in the distance through the water. Atem allowed a little sigh of relief - it didn’t look like anything had changed.

However, before he turned to leave, a flicker of movement caught his eye.

Head snapping back, his eyes narrowed and his gaze went sharp as a tail fin disappeared over the edge of the ship, grey and vertical.

Rage bubbled in Atem’s chest. How dare. How _dare_ something attempt to move in to Yugi’s ship. Fish or mammal, nothing was allowed to intrude upon such sacred grounds.

Arms snapped to his sides, Atem made an angry dash towards the ship in the distance. He should have known. He should have _known_ something like this would eventually happen, but by the gods would he right this wrong immediately.

Upon reaching the ship he noticed it had decayed some since he last saw it up close, the hull having collapsed in on itself more and leaving a gaping hole in the side. The sight made the ache in his chest throb, but further fueled his anger that something had an easier way to trespass.

He snapped off a plank of wood, the texture somewhat spongey in his grip but sturdy enough to use as a weapon. Atem could also still traverse the halls of this ship with his eyes closed.

The inside of the ship was still, quiet. Suspiciously so. Atem was careful as he rounded corners, absolutely silent with his gliding fins as he kept alert. Towards the end of the ship - the captain’s quarters - he heard a sound, something smacking against wood and what sounded like a muttered curse.

Atem’s anger burned brighter. Of all things, a strange siren had moved in to the ship? It couldn’t be anything else, but how _dare_ they. Atem had not considered himself territorial, but he now found that assumption to be very wrong.

With a quiet snarl he shot down the corridor and into the open door, wooden plank held aloft. He barely got a glimpse of soft purple scales and wide violet eyes before - **THWAP** \- something snapped _hard_ against his temple.

Vision swimming and pain vibrating through his skull, Atem’s speed made him soar right past the other being, crumpling against the far wall and sliding to the floor.

His senses were utterly scrambled, the siren close to passing out. He grunted when something landed on him heavily, claws digging into his forearms and pinning him down.

Words, a declaration was being shouted at him, but he could hardly make it out past the ringing in his ears.

“Wh-nugh?” Atem managed to groan out, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to keep his eyeballs from rolling around in his skull.

“...I said, _what_   are you doing on _my_  ship?!” the voice demanded, slowly becoming clearer as Atem’s senses returned.

Atem froze, the voice sending a chill through his body. There was no way - he must have been hit hard to be hearing that voice after so long.

Forcing his eyes open, his vision still swam a little until he managed to focus on the body pinning him down. Two furious, glittering violet eyes glared down at him, accented by gold bangs that floated with purple messy locks.

Atem’s throat locked up as the sight before him fully registered, but it took another whole minute of wide-eyed goggling for it to do so, the siren above him shaking him angrily at his expression.

“Don’t stare at me so stupidly, or I’ll rip your throat out!! Why are you in my territory?!” they snarled, claws cutting in sharply to his biceps.

“Yugi?” Atem asked, voice trembling as much as his body was.

The siren above him startled, before backing off warily, anger switching to fear. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Atem took in Yugi’s whole body, skin fading to purple-grey scales, the long shark-like tail were his legs used to be, the gills along his ribcage, and lastly his very much solid form. Atem thought the whole world was quaking, but realized it was most likely just him.

“ _By the gods_ ,” Atem cursed as he launched forward, wrapping his arms around Yugi and pulling him tightly to him like he’d longed to for so long.

Yugi hissed, high and sharp, and dug his claws again into Atem’s shoulders. Atem grunted as something whipped sharply at his back - it was Yugi’s tail, one tip of the caudal fin much longer than the other, and he used it as a weapon.

“Get off me!” Yugi shrieked, writhing in his grip and clawing ribbons on Atem’s chest and back, but Atem held fast, only letting go to grip Yugi’s shoulders and stare him straight in the eyes.

“It’s _me_ , Yugi!” he insisted, voice thick but overjoyed. “Atem!!”

Yugi jolted, eyes wide as something flickered in them but was drowned out with fear and bewilderment. “A-Atem? I - I don’t -”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Atem soothed, pulling Yugi close once more despite the blood that seeped out of his wounds. “Just - you’re _here._ "

Atem’s voice rumbled through Yugi’s body, making the shark siren quake with the emotion it held. Anger fading, but fear still apparent, Yugi did as his heart bid despite his confusion, and cautiously wrapped his arms around Atem’s back.

The sob hitching in the red-scaled siren’s throat made Yugi’s own close up, and Yugi settled for sitting with his bewilderment, for now.  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and sticking through it!! Left the ending somewhat open for hopefully future installments to this AU. 
> 
> If you're interested in more art please check out the #MerGhost AU tag on my tumblr @ Kudalyn!


End file.
